January 11, 2021 4.31 pm This story is over 38 months old

Lincoln council rejects “intrusive” ad boards

It wouldn’t fit in with historic views
How the digital board would have looked towards Lincoln Cathedral.

The City of Lincoln Council has refused planning permission to build a digital advertising board overlooking Pelham Bridge due to it being “visually intrusive” and not respecting the character of the surrounding area.

Alight Media applied to the council to put the 8m high boards in the Pelham Centre Car Park in November 2020.

Each unit would have been 6m wide by 3m high and the applicants said the images would change every 10 seconds.

City of Lincoln Council said: “The signs, by reason of their size, position, height and design as illuminated digital screens, would appear visually intrusive and prominent in the street scene and would fail to respect the character of the surrounding area, causing harm to amenity and to scenic and historic views.”

Documents submitted to the council in November said: “Landmark advertising sites can therefore help to stimulate the local economy, as well as adding interest to the street scene, bringing colour to drab areas, making areas safer at night through better illumination, and screening eyesores.”

The council previously rejected a similar application for Dixon Street, however, the objection was overturned at appeal with the planning inspector declaring it would “not stand out as an incongruous, intrusive or overly dominant feature in the street scene”.

The Dixon Street panel is now being installed.